Conventional vascular grafts have long been used for vascular repair in humans and animals. These devices are typically flexible tubes of woven or knitted polyethylene terephthalate or of porous polytetrafluoroethylene (hereinafter PTFE). Grafts of biological origin are also used, these being typically fixed human umbilical or bovine arteries. These conventional vascular grafts usually require invasive surgical methods that expose at least both ends of the segment of vessel to be repaired. Frequently it is necessary to expose the entire length of the vessel segment. These types of repairs consequently cause major trauma to the patient with corresponding lengthy recovery periods and may result in occasional mortality.
Alternative methods have evolved which use intraluminal vascular grafts in the form of adjustable stent structural supports, tubular grafts or a combination of both. These devices are preferably remotely introduced into a body cavity by the use of a catheter type of delivery system. Alternatively they may be directly implanted by invasive surgery. The intent of these methods is to maintain patency after an occluded vessel has been re-opened using balloon angioplasty, laser angioplasty, atherectomy, roto-ablation, invasive surgery, or a combination of these treatments.
Intraluminal vascular grafts can also be used to repair aneurysmal vessels, particularly aortic arteries, by inserting an intraluminal vascular graft within the aneurysmal vessel so that the prosthetic withstands the blood pressure forces responsible for creating the aneurysm.
Intraluminal vascular grafts provide a new blood contacting surface within the lumen of a diseased living vessel. Intraluminal grafts are not, however, limited to blood vessels; other applications include urinary tracts, biliary ducts, respiratory tracts and the like.
If the intraluminal graft used is of thin enough wall and adequate flexibility, it may be collapsed and inserted into a body conduit at a smaller diameter location remote from the intended repair site. A catheter type of delivery system is then used to move the intraluminal graft into the repair site and then expand its diameter appropriately to conform to the inner surface of the living vessel. Various attachment methods including the use of adjustable stents may be used to secure the intraluminal graft at the desired location without the necessity of invasive surgery.
Intraluminal vascular grafts were suggested as early as 1912 in an article by Alexis Carrel (Results of the permanent intubation of the thoracic aorta. Surg., Gyn and Ob. 1912;15:245-248). U.S. Pat. No. 3,657,744 to Ersek describes a method of using one or more adjustable stents to secure a flexible fabric vascular graft intraluminally, the graft and stent having been introduced distally and delivered to the desired position with a separate delivery system.
Choudhury, U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,126, describes a similar method of repairing aortic aneurysms whereby a polyethylene terephthalate vascular graft is fitted at its ends with metal anchoring pins and pleated longitudinally to collapse the graft to a size small enough to allow for distal introduction.
Rhodes, U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,154 and Lee, U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,917, describe endovascular bypass grafts for intraluminal use which comprise a sleeve having at least two diametrically-expandable stents. Rhodes teaches that the sleeve material is to be made of conventional vascular graft materials such as GORE-TEX® Vascular Graft (W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., Flagstaff Ariz.) or Impra® Graft (Impra, Inc. Tempe Ariz.). Both the GORE-TEX Vascular Graft and Impra Graft are extruded and longitudinally expanded PTFE tubes. Additionally, the GORE-TEX Vascular Graft possesses an exterior helical wrapping of porous expanded PTFE film. The difficulty with the use of either the GORE-TEX Vascular Graft or the Impra graft as the sleeve component is that the relatively thick, bulky wall of the extruded, longitudinally expanded PTFE tubes limits the ability of the tube to be contracted into a small cross-sectional area for insertion into a blood vessel. For example, the wall thickness of a 6 mm inside diameter Thin Walled GORE-TEX Vascular Graft is typically 0.4mm. The thinness of the wall is limited by the difficulty of manufacturing an extruded, longitudinally expanded tube having a thin wall of uniform thickness.